Righting the Wrongs
by TisTheEast
Summary: She had known him to be intense yes, but this was something more powerful, more passionate. CHAPTER 7 NOW UP!
1. Default Chapter

**Title: Righting the Wrongs  
  
**Author: Juliet (pandora1251@yahoo.com)  
  
**Disclaimer: sadly not mine..but a girl can dream can't she??  
  
**Rating: we'll say PG for the time being  
  
**Spoilers: A Little Murder  
  
**Author's Notes: The title to this fic should give some of the more astute readers a clue as to what I hope to accomplish throughout these chapters. Let's just say writing this has served a two-fold purpose: 1. to write a new fic 2. to serve as a sort of commentary on recent episodes.  
  
**Thank-you's: To the Graveyard Shift groupies for being so wonderful and banding together throughout this time of anticipation (you know what I mean). A special thanks to Angie for the title. To Joe for always listening to my rants. To Gabe for also listening to my rants, making me laugh, and offering to hold my hand during this week's episode.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I need you."  
  
The look in his eyes was one of pure terror. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before in her 2 and a half years of knowing him. She had known him to be intense yes, but this was something more powerful, more passionate.  
  
"Sara, tell me I can count on you," Grissom whispered, barely able to find his own voice.  
  
"I'll take care of this," Sara said as Greg came running up.  
  
"Nick and Warrick and wrapping up their case right now," he said breathlessly. "Until they get here, what can I do?"  
  
"Grab a camera and follow me," Sara replied deciding it would be best to get down to business. She handed Greg a camera and began to walk towards the overturned truck, expecting him to follow. Greg however, lingered nervously near Grissom who seemed lost behind his cold stare.  
  
"Get moving Greg," Grissom said before getting into his Tahoe and speeding off into the night.  
  
"I didn't know how to tell him," Greg sighed as he followed Sara around the crime scene.  
  
"Tell him what?" Sara asked snapping pictures from different angles.  
  
"Well maybe it means nothing, but I know it would probably send him off the deep end or something," Greg began. Then seeing Sara's frustrated look, he got right to the point, "Right after Catherine collapsed, before she was totally unconscious, she whispered his name."  
  
***Where did Grissom go?? Why did Catherine collapse?? What the heck is going on?? Find out more in Chapter Two-coming soon!! 


	2. Chapter 2

It was eerily silent as the crime scene as the four figures worked in perfect synchronization to process the scene. At what seemed like an eternity, Warrick voiced what seemed to be a preoccupation in all of their minds, "She seemed fine earlier tonight."  
  
The others nodded. The work day, or rather work evening had started out perfectly normal with Catherine and Nick going to process a homicide with a suspect already in custody. Warrick had joined Nick at the scene while Catherine returned to the lab to deliver some DNA evidence to Greg for processing and safekeeping until the suspect's trial. They were all going to join Grissom on a more unusual case involving an overturned truck as soon as the first scene was done as it was Sara's night off. However things didn't work out as planned.  
  
"Who even found her? I mean Gris was already here and we were at the other scene." Nick wondered.  
  
"She was making me coffee," Greg said softly. He went on, "We were waiting for the DNA results from the other scene, and she said she was going to go grab a cup of coffee. For some reason, she looked really lonely and since Grissom had just rushed off to come here, I offered to join her. So we sit and the break room and Catherine proceeds to launch into this whole thing about how I shouldn't let Grissom get to me because he's been like that to everyone recently."  
  
Everyone nodded their agreement. Grissom had been unusually quiet and rather unfeeling for the last few months, and while they all had noticed it, he seemed to take it out on Greg and Catherine the most.  
  
Greg continued, "Well, I realized that the print out was probably ready so I went to go grab it while Catherine got us each another cup of coffee. And when I came back, there she was on the floor."  
  
"So did you end up having to call Grissom?" Sara asked quietly. Telling Grissom about this was not something you could have paid any of them to do, no matter what the price. "Yeah," Greg sighed. "I didn't know how to tell him so I was just kind of blathering away for a while. Then after he snapped at me to get to the point, I told him and he got really quiet and then told me to come out here."  
  
"He sounded like he could barely keep his composure when he called me," Sara said. "But I guess that's to be expected, since this is Catherine we're talking about."  
  
Nick shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder if even he realizes how much he cares about her."  
  
**Why has Grissom been in such a bad mood recently and will this incident with Catherine help change that or push him further into this dark mood? This and more in Chapter 3, so stay tuned! 


	3. Chapter 3

People remember the strangest things when placed in situations of extreme stress. Or least this was Grissom's excuse to himself as he speed down the darkened street of Las Vegas. He refused to consider that the memory was a message from his subconscious telling him to face his inner demons. He refused to think that because it was something Catherine would say. He merely let himself succumb to the memory, hoping that it would make the endless drive seem shorter.  
  
"How long has it been since you actually put this up?" Catherine said staring at the dusty fake Christmas tree.  
  
"Well it's not like I've been throwing any holiday parties or anything Cath," Grissom replied pulling another dusty box out of the closet.  
  
"Well of course not," she said flopping into the brown leather chair, her favorite. "Because that would just ruin that whole hermit thing you've got going."  
  
"How many of those have you had?" Grissom asked pointing to a half-filled glass on the coffee table.  
  
"Scared I'm going to get drunk and your tree won't get decorated?" Catherine asked smirking playfully.  
  
"More worried about explaining to my mother why you're passed out on the couch and the tree is decorated so badly," Grissom replied.  
  
But everything had gone perfectly. Together he and Catherine had made his house look perfect for his mother's visit. He'd been even more delighted to find out that Catherine still remembered a lot of the sign language he's taught her when they had first met, allowing her to have a lengthy conversation with his mother.  
  
Wondering when the tears had begun trickling down his cheeks, Grissom remembered how Catherine had told him she thought his mother was such a wonderful woman and she loved talking to her. He remembered how her eyes had lit up when his mother had complimented her on her skill at signing.  
  
All at once however, he felt terribly selfish. Here he was worrying about how Catherine would react if he got up enough nerve to tell her about his hearing loss, and for all he knew she had been trying to tell him something these few weeks and he had ignored her.  
  
**Was Catherine trying to tell Grissom something?? Will he tell her about his hearing loss? And why did she collapse?? Read more in Chapter 4..coming to a website near you!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
She looked like one of the china dolls Lindsey collected: cool, pale and extremely fragile. He had never seen her like this in all the years he had known her. He'd seen her frightened and bruised at Eddie's hand. He had seen her in the hospital when she had Lindsey, a new mother exhausted yet elated. He'd seen her drunk, once taken care of her when she had the flu right before finals in college, but nothing compared to how Catherine looked at this moment.  
  
One of the ER doctors had taken pity on him at the front desk and gave the okay for Grissom to sit by her side until more tests needed to be run. He was grateful but at the same time worried that he would never want to leave her side again. As he gently clasped her hand between his, Grissom remembered the last time he'd sat with her at the hospital  
  
"I wish they'd let me see her," Catherine sighed flopping back against the pillows.  
  
"Patience is a virtue Cath," Grissom replied squeezing her hand in reassurance. "I'm sure they're just making sure nothing wrong since she'd so small."  
  
"But what if there is Gil," Catherine murmured, tears forming in her eyes. "It would be all my fault."  
  
"Shhh," Gil said smoothing back her blonde tresses. Before either was able to say anything more, Lindsey had been brought in by a nurse. He had gotten the honor of holding her even before her father who had been away from home under the pretense of a business trip when Catherine had gone into labor. Grissom had never forgotten how Catherine's eyes had lit up the first time she held her baby daughter. He only wished he could see her blue eyes light up like that right now.  
  
He studied her delicate hand in his and sighing softly resigned himself to another memory as he waited for her to wake up.  
  
"Guess who?" a soft voice whispered in his ear as a soft pair of hands blocked his sight.  
  
"Farrah Fawcett?" Grissom guessed.  
  
"Not quite," Catherine replied lowering her hands and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.  
  
"Actually I think I got someone better," Grissom said pulling her into his lap. "Did you get off early tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, it was really slow so I decided to take off and grab some dinner," Catherine said pointing to the containers of Chinese takeout on the kitchen counter.  
  
"Hey Conrad, Cath brought us Chinese," Grissom called to his then roommate, Conrad Ecklie.  
  
"Great I'm starved," Conrad said heading for the kitchen.  
  
"You boys enjoy," Catherine said standing up. "I'll be upstairs."  
  
"You okay?" Grissom asked catching her arm before she left the room.  
  
"Yup," she said smiling a little too brightly. "I have a pretty big lab tomorrow that I need to finish up some reading for."  
  
"No more headaches?" he said softly as he smoothed a strand of her long blonde hair from her forehead.  
  
"I'm fine, I promise," Catherine replied planting a quick kiss on his lips. "Now go eat your dinner before it gets cold."  
  
Gazing at Catherine's still form, dwarfed by the large white hospital bed, Grissom wondered if she had been in pain all these years and he'd just been too wrapped up in himself to notice.  
  
His train of thought was interrupted however, when he felt a gentle tug on his hand.  
  
**Has Grissom known all along what's wrong with Catherine?? Will she wake up soon?? All this and more in Chapter 5.coming soon so stay tuned!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Author's Note: I've got to say for the record that I am in no way, a medical expert. I know basically what I'm talking about as far as the bare basics of the conditions I talk about (I did a bit of research), but I'm sort of guessing on a lot of the terminology and such so bare with me.  
  
"Gil."  
  
She whispered it so softly, that he could barely discern that it was his name.  
  
"Hey Beautiful," Grissom said surprising himself. He hadn't spoken quite like that to Catherine for more than ten years. He reached up to gently stroke her blonde hair.  
  
"What time is it?" Catherine asked without opening her eyes.  
  
"Well you've been out for quite a while so I'd imagine almost three. Why?" Grissom asked.  
  
"We need to get to work, don't we?" she murmured slowly drifting back to sleep.  
  
"Catherine," Grissom began, and as if on cue the doctor entered the room. Looking mournfully at Catherine, who had fallen back asleep, he then said to the doctor, "She woke up for a second there, or at least I think she did. She was talking to me."  
  
The doctor nodded. "It's probably the medication we have her on right now: painkillers combined with something that will stabilize her nervous system."  
  
"What-what's wrong with her? I mean why did she..is she going to be okay?" Grissom asked nervously clutching Catherine's hand.  
  
"Mr. Grissom, has Ms. Willows experienced any sort of head trauma recently?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Not that I can remember," Grissom began, thankful that her days with Eddie were over. Then the sickening realization came over him, "About a month ago, there was an incident with a suspect at a crime scene."  
  
He paused, shutting his eyes for a brief second and remembering Catherine's insistence that the attack had been nothing.  
  
"It's just a thing Gil, I've seen worse," she said turning to go into the break room.  
  
"If it's nothing, then why did you wait for me to bring it up the gigantic welt on your forehead to even bother telling me about it?" Grissom said following her.  
  
"If Warrick hadn't brought it up, you wouldn't have noticed," she snapped. "Now can I please go work?"  
  
The doctor made a note and went on, "Has she ever complained of severe headaches or migraines?"  
  
"Sometimes when we were younger, but not very much recently," Grissom replied wondering how many years the build up to this moment had taken.  
  
The doctor nodded, "As I suspected."  
  
"And did you suspect?' Grissom snapped. He was normally a patient man, but right now waiting seemed out of the question.  
  
"Well from what I can so far, Ms. Willows has been suffering from severe migraines for many years due to nerve problems which probably developed in her teen years. The problem seemed to have corrected itself once she entered adulthood, but I believe this recent head trauma may have done some nerve damage which triggered this," replied the doctor. "I'll need to run some more tests once she's awake to be sure."  
  
"But is she going to be okay?" Grissom asked, his voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"After we run more tests, we'll able to determine the proper treatment," the doctor replied. Then, sensing Grissom's panic, "We're lucky this happened when it did. If she had gone on any longer without realizing it, serious damage could have been done. However, the chances of a full recovery are very high."  
  
After the doctor had excused himself, Grissom stared at Catherine's sleeping form.  
  
"Is it six already?" moaned Catherine as the alarm sounded.  
  
"Looks like it is," Grissom mumbled, shutting off the alarm. He padded into the bathroom smiling to himself as Catherine proceeded to claim all of the blankets for herself. "Aren't you supposed to be getting up too?"  
  
"My early class got bumped to ten instead of eight," she replied snuggling deeper into the covers.  
  
"So are you working tonight?" Grissom asked coming back into the bedroom.  
  
"No, thank god," Catherine yawned. "Do you know what I had to deal with last night?"  
  
"I can only imagine," Grissom said sitting back down on the bed, intent on putting his shoes on, but instead running his fingers through her hair.  
  
"Five bachelor parties," she said with a tone of disgust.  
  
"So quit," Grissom offered softly. "I can help you get a new job."  
  
"I can't just." Catherine sighed. Then she looked into his blue eyes, "Soon. I promise, just let me get through school so I can get that job okay?"  
  
Grissom smiled to himself thinking how far she had come from that moment. In reality, they had both come along way, yet deep down the feelings hadn't changed. Back then, he had wished to whisk Catherine away from the world of the strip clubs like Prince Charming in some fairy tale. Now he wished to kiss his beloved and awaken her from the deep sleep she had been imprisoned in. But like any good scientist, Grissom knew there were no such things as fairy tales, and he could never be Prince Charming.  
  
**SIGH!!! Will Grissom realize how much he really can offer Catherine? Will Catherine ever wake up?? And what about the rest of the team??? Those stories and more in Chapter 6 so stay tuned! 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
What had happened to her? If how she felt was any indication of why she was in the hospital, Catherine knew she must be in pretty bad shape. She tried to turn her head to take in her surroundings but found that movement set her awash in a sea of dizziness.  
  
Becoming more aware however, Catherine realized that someone was holding her hand. Shutting her eyes slowly, she heard his soft voice through the pounding in her head.  
  
"Remember how we used to sit up all night and talk," Grissom said, stroking her hand. "You'd always fall asleep before me, and I'd end up like I am now, jabbering on while you're fast asleep. Except then, I never realized that you were sleeping so sometimes I'd end up talking for an hour. I bet you never knew that, did you Cath?"  
  
"Yes I did," Catherine murmured so softly that he almost missed it. "I always listened to you, Gil. Even on that first night when."  
  
She trailed off, opening her blue eyes and staring into his. Something about the expression in her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek made Grissom feel as if his heart were breaking into a million pieces. She pressed her eyes shut again trying to stop the tears from flowing.  
  
"It's alright sweetheart," Grissom whispered, stroking her hair.  
  
"But why?" she whimpered.  
  
"I don't know Catherine, the doctor can explain why you're here better than I can," Grissom said, feeling close to tears himself.  
  
As if on cue the doctor reappeared in the doorway shooing Grissom into the lobby so he could exam Catherine. However before he left her side, Grissom leaned over and placed a tender kiss on Catherine's cheek.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered softly. At Catherine's mournful nod, he said, "And I'll tell you all about what happened that night."  
  
"Thank you," she replied reluctantly letting go of his hand.  
  
Once in the lobby, Grissom flopped into a chair and recalled the night in question.  
  
"Hey Gil, that girl over there just winked at you," Conrad Ecklie said, as Grissom alighted the cue for what he hoped was a perfect shot. When Grissom didn't look up, Ecklie continued, "Now she's coming over here."  
  
"Gil?" Catherine asked, leaning against the pool table.  
  
"Oh, uhm, Catherine right?" Grissom said, flushing as he botched the shot.  
  
"You remembered," she replied with a warm smile.  
  
"Well how could I forget, I mean you were such a help to the case. Can I, uh, buy you a drink or something?" Grissom stammered as Ecklie watched on in amusement.  
  
"I'd love that," Catherine said giving him a dazzling smile.  
  
Three hours later, Grissom and Catherine had found themselves at the small apartment he shared with Ecklie.  
  
"Dibs on the living room," Ecklie called from the kitchen as Grissom and Catherine walked in. "That cute police trainee is coming over in a few minutes."  
  
"We could, uh, go upstairs or something," Grissom muttered, hoping he wasn't blushing too badly.  
  
"Sounds great," Catherine replied with another beautiful smile. It was her smile that Grissom had first fallen in love with. When Catherine smiled at him, she managed to be beautiful, sexy, mysterious, but yet make him feel completely at ease. To see her eyes filled with tears, her face white in fear, was almost too much to bare.  
  
"Uhm, how's it going there boss?" Greg asked.  
  
Grissom looked up, startled to find the entire team standing in the lobby of the hospital. They looked tired, yet concerned.  
  
"Did you get everything wrapped up with the case?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Yes, of course," Sara replied.  
  
"Did Brass get everything he needs for the Cochran trial?" Grissom replied, staring past her to the room where Catherine was.  
  
"It's all taken care of," Sara answered, wondering how Grissom was able to talk business at a time like this.  
  
"Good," Grissom said as he stood up. Then, to the surprise of everyone, he walked away.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Sara hissed, as she began to follow him.  
  
"Hey calm down," Nick said, pulling her back to the group.  
  
"Well someone has to do something here," Sara muttered.  
  
"And what do you suggest we do?" Warrick said softly.  
  
"Obviously, there's nothing that can be done," Greg said sadly. "Because if there were, Grissom would be doing it."  
  
"He's right," Nick replied. "For now, all we can do is wait."  
  
**Where did Grissom go?? Is Catherine going to be okay?? And just what did happen that night so many years ago?? Those answers and more in chapter 7.so stay tuned!! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Grissom let his body fall heavily against the upholstered of the Tahoe as his gaze traveled to the abandoned parking lot. The combination of the previous night's rain and the desert air had produced a fine mist just above the blacktop like something out of a haunting dream. But as much as Grissom wanted to be heading home right now to his immaculate townhouse after a night of solving crime, as much as he wanted to be cooking breakfast as Catherine lounged on his couch, his dream could not come true.  
  
"Should one of us go out there?" Sara asked, peering at the door of the lobby. Grissom had been sitting outside in his Tahoe for nearly forty-five minutes now.  
  
"Give him some time," Nick said resting a hand on her shoulder as Warrick nodded his agreement.  
  
Leaning in towards the others, Warrick said softly, "What's his deal?"  
  
Nick and Sara followed his line of sight to where Greg was pacing back and forth a few feet away.  
  
Sara shook her head, "He's been doing that for a while now."  
  
"Hey Greg," Nick called out. "You want have a seat?"  
  
"Nah, I'm good," Greg replied, keeping a steady pace.  
  
"You sure man?" Nick asked walking towards him. "Because you're making me dizzy with all this back and forth stuff."  
  
Pulling Nick to a far corner of the lobby, Greg said, "Why's it taking this long? I mean I can run tests faster than this..does it always take this long?"  
  
"I'm really not sure," Nick replied quietly, understanding Greg's concerns.  
  
Before they could say anything more, the doctor returned and informed Nick and Greg that they could see go in to talk to Catherine for a few minutes.  
  
"Why don't you guys go ahead," Sara said to Nick, Greg and Warrick. "I'll go get Grissom."  
  
They entered the room cautiously, not sure what to expect.  
  
"Hey boys," Catherine said softly from the bed.  
  
"Hey Cath, you feeling better?" Warrick asked, feeling his heart sink at how pale and tired she looked.  
  
"Like hell," she replied, managing a small smile. She looked over at Greg, "I owe you a cup of coffee, don't I?"  
  
"Don't worry about it," Greg said softly, feeling very nervous. "Just try to get some rest, okay?"  
  
She nodded and then looked around, "Where's Gil?"  
  
"I'm right here," Grissom said, trying to resist the urge to call her sweetheart in front of the entire team, as he entered the room.  
  
Good," Catherine yawned. "Because you promised me a story."  
  
"Yes I did," Grissom replied, coming to stand her side.  
  
"I think we're going to, uhm, run and grab some breakfast," Sara said shooing Nick, Greg, and Warrick out of the room. "We'll be back a little later. Take care Catherine."  
  
"Thanks Sara," Catherine said, giving the younger woman a warm smile. Focusing her blue eyes on Grissom, she whispered, "We went back to your apartment and then?"  
  
"You read this one a lot?" Catherine said running her hand over the copy of Cyrano de Bergerac sitting on the table beside Grissom's bed.  
  
"It's one of my favorites," Grissom replied. They had been sitting in his room for over 3 hours, just talking about art, literature, and anything else that came up. Short of their brief meetings in the strip club during the case he's been working, this was the first time Grissom had really talked to Catherine Daniels, and he was already falling in love with her.  
  
"I've always thought it was a pretty story," Catherine said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  
  
"All those that blossom in my heart, I'll fling to you-armfuls of loose bloom! Love, I love beyond breath, beyond reason, beyond love's own power of loving," Grissom recited the words of Edmond Rostand as if they had been written for him to say to Catherine on that very night. He took gently took her hand and let their fingers intertwine. For a moment it was as if time stood still between them, letting each one get lost in the blue eyes of the other.  
  
"I know Cyrano said something about kissing," Catherine murmured.  
  
"I have." Grissom began, struggling to remember the quote.  
  
"Shhh," Catherine said, leaning in to kiss him.  
  
"And you started giggling about how we were sitting there like two teenagers," Grissom said stroking Catherine's hand, as she drifted in and out of sleep.  
  
"Oh yeah," she replied, with close eyes and a smirk. "Then didn't we decide to lie down on your bed?"  
  
"And then we talked for another hour or so," Grissom said, remembering the feeling of being next to Catherine in bed like it was yesterday. "And you showed me your tattoo."  
  
"I did not!" Catherine replied, opening her eyes.  
  
Grissom nodded, "A Blue Copper butterfly."  
  
"You'd know wouldn't you?" Catherine said letting her eyes drift shut again. It was quiet for a while, so long in fact that Grissom thought Catherine had fallen asleep again.  
  
He leaned over to kiss her on the forehead as she whispered sleepily, "I miss those days."  
  
Before he could reply however, a booming voice interrupted their moment, "What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time Catherine?"  
  
**Who just came into the room?? Will Grissom and Catherine rekindle their old love?? And what about the rest of the team?? This, plus more flashbacks in Chapter 8 coming soon!! 


End file.
